My husband just got back from being in Anchorage on business. This is his second time in as many years being there. Last year, he texted me said, "Hey, I just walked by a quilt shop!" He very kindly included a picture of the front door with the name of the shop.
You know how mean that is? I gave him cr*p when he got home about not getting me anything, although I didn't give him too much of it because he had brought me a beautiful, small stained-glass plate with native designs that still sits on the mantle of our fireplace.
This year, he texted me a picture of the door again. "Really, you COULD buy me souvenir fabric, you know!" I texted back. His response, "I wouldn't know what to get." "Oh, please," I said. "They'd just think you were the cutest thing coming and would love to help you out!"
Turns out, this time he did brave the quilt shop. He put himself at the mercy of the staff, described the kinds of quilting I normally do, and they made some choices for him. Well done, team!
So, thumbs up to The Quilted Raven in Anchorage!
These fat quarters are all done by Alaskan artist Cindy Shake at Cindy Shake Design.
The longer pieces have two each of two designs; one's swirlies and stars, the other is the dog sleds and mushers. (Anchorage is the public starting point of the Iditarod.)
I love the many ways fat quarters can be bundled in cute little packages. But I did break open that star collection so you could see those fabrics as well.
Dig those birds!
And what's that little thing down in the lower right?
Why, it's a button, of course. It was used in the tie on the packaging. It looks to me like a bone button, but don't quote me on that. Perhaps part of an antler? There was no identifying information.
I won't be putting this on clothes--it'll go in my "random embellishment jar" for safe-keeping.
Finally, a traditional seal-skin thimble like those used by the Inuit for generations.
I won't ever use it--it'll sit on a display shelf I have in my sewing room with some sewing-related trinkets he brought me back from a business trip to China, and an antique pincushion my supervisor gave me for Christmas one year.
But before I put it on the shelf, I couldn't resist.